Chapter 20

Rygun charges into battle to save the protagonist after she's pinned by Citadel soldiers, killing a Moltenmaw rider and triggering a direct confrontation with the battalion. The group—including Maell, Pyrok, and Roan—escapes on dragonback by burning the immediate area with Rygun's flames, fleeing Bothaim toward the border as war looms.

The protagonist and her companions sprint through thick mist in Bothaim as Rygun engages in combat with Citadel forces. Rygun has grounded himself—something he normally avoids—to defend the protagonist after she fell unconscious. Maell, the younger Moltenmaw, arrives unexpectedly with Pyrok, having refused to stay behind. The protagonist locates Rygun pinning a red Moltenmaw to the ground; its rider hangs dead from Rygun's jaws. As the protagonist climbs onto Rygun with Raeve, Citadel soldiers close in from multiple directions, and a ballista fires at the dragon. Facing imminent exposure if Rygun takes flight in the clearing mist, the protagonist orders a devastating counterattack: Rygun sweeps flames across the courtyard, incinerating soldiers and melting nearby storefronts into magma. Both dragons—Rygun and Maell—launch skyward with their riders and escape toward the border. The protagonist recognizes that despite their escape, this act of war against the Citadel will have serious consequences once the moonfalls pass.